Over 2.2 million unregistered telephone lines blocked

Not less than 2.2 million improperly registered sim cards have been disabled from functioning across the country.

This is according to the Federal Ministry of Communications.

The blocked telephone lines, according to the Ministry, were among the 9.2 million lines it threatened to block if not properly registered on or before Wednesday, September 25, 2019.

The ministry, on Saturday, September 28, disclosed that 6,830,249 of the lines were revalidated by the deadline, and 2,277,311 telephones lines couldn’t beat the deadline and were blocked as a result.

Recall that the Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Pantami had issued a directive to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to disconnect lines not properly registered.

Pantami had set the September 25 as the deadline for registration of all sim cards in the country, after which pre-registered or partially registered sim cards would cease to exist in the country.

Pantami said this while receiving the Management Team of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in his office. He praised NCC for its prompt action in reducing the number of improperly registered SIM cards from 9.2 million to 2.42 million within one week.

Stressing the importance of the work, the Minister tasked Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye who led the delegation to his office to ensure that no SIM card is used in the country without proper registration, citing the security implications and the challenges facing the country.

“The total number of incomplete registrations of SIM cards as it is today based on the report I received is 2.42 million. So, the reduction within this period is about 73.2%. This is a significant achievement from 9.2 million. We are back to 2.4 million. Within this period, 6.775 million have been rectified and this is highly commendable,” Pantami said.

Criminal activities across the country have been on the rise in recent times, and the Minister issued this directive as the Nigerian government continues to clamp down on improperly registered sim cards used by kidnappers and internet fraudsters to carry out criminal and fraudulent acts.

Patami, however, hoped that this directive would help the commission identify the various criminals that used sim cards for engaging in several crimes.